I could go for a nice big bowl of this right about now

When I was in college, our school's late night comedy show aired a segment called "The Dangers of Top Ramen." It depicted students drowning in their small plastic bowls of MSG-laced soup, exchanging the addictive quick-fix meal as a form of currency, injuring themselves in the eye with shards of dry noodle, and hoarding packets of the stuff in their dorm rooms. The video quickly made its way to YouTube and then made the rounds on our school's email network (this was before Gmail). As funny as it was at the time, instant ramen was a common reality for those of us struggling to fit food into our busy schedules filled with coursework, socializing and extracurriculars. But then I started living with Ariel. As a Japanese American, her quick-fix comfort food wasn't lasagna or chicken noodle soup or even top ramen. On nights when we were too tired to cook or too overwhelmed with ...